our workSamaritans / Empowering the public to save lives
Research from Middlesex University shows that, if you see someone in distress, simply making small talk is enough to interrupt their suicidal thoughts and start them on the journey to recovery. Everybody can manage a bit of small talk – but how do you encourage and empower the public to trust their instincts and make an approach, if they think someone’s in trouble?
That was our brief when we took on the sixth iteration of Samaritans’ successful ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’ campaign. We were tasked with creating a film to break down barriers to initiating small talk if you think someone needs help – and delivered a campaign that increased the likelihood of making an intervention to 69%.
Understanding the emotion behind the barriers
To change a behaviour, you need to understand the emotion driving it. The Middlesex University research shows that three of the major barriers to making an intervention are worries you’ll say the wrong thing, make it worse, or overstep your boundaries.
We observed that all of these worries come from the same place: extremely well-meaning, cautious over-thinking, from a starting point of instinctive concern and empathy.
So we set about to show that, regardless of what your overthinking would have you believe, you should trust your instincts and do what you already know is right.
And we did this by personifying the instincts themselves...
We personified System 1 and System 2 thoughts – and then had some fun…
The protagonist of our film is Viv – along with Viv 1 and Viv 2, her inner team of decision-makers. If Viv 1 is her confident, decisive gut instinct, Viv 2 is her over-thinking rational brain – effectively, System 1 and System 2 thought.
The tension between what Viv’s confident, decisive self wants to do, and her anxious over-thinking self’s response to this, is resolved in quick fire, snappy and witty dialogue.
Keeping things light to maintain engagement
The film engagingly speaks directly to the overthinkers amongst us, disarmingly and lightly taking us on a journey through our barriers to a positive resolution. We model the desired thought process in our script – our protagonist deflates her own fears, builds her own confidence, and talks herself into making a successful intervention.
The results?
The most engaging Small Talk Saves Lives campaign yet… Our approach worked. The likelihood of approaching and speaking to someone who appeared distressed at a railway station increased to 69% after watching the film. Engagement rates increased by 89% across Samaritans’ social channels, against the previous iteration of this longstanding campaign, and in paid media it surpassed industry benchmarks across all metrics including video completion rates of 45% on YouTube against the industry average of 20%.
Thanks as ever to everyone that helped make the film happen
The film was shot on a bone-numbingly cold, unexpectedly busy train platform in Leeds, with the support of an extremely welcoming station team and an extraordinarily talented cast, all under the watchful eye of our brilliant production partners, Space.
Special shout out to Storycatcher Sarah and Ruby the collie, who both star as extras in the film. Ruby passed away not too long after the shoot, but memories of her gentle, loving presence are alive in every corner of our Welbeck hub. Sleep well…
